Increase reading...how?

[Alana in Canada]

I am very dissappointed at where my kids are in their reading levels. They tend to balk at anything I give them to read--and I'm not sure why--whether it's "too hard" or they're lazy, or incapabe, or simply not interested.

 

(My son reads a lot--but it's comic boks, garfield, Calvin and Hobbes, that sort of thing and my daughter hardly ever at all.)

 

For example, right now my son is supposed to be reading Pocohontas and the Strangers by Clyde Bulla and The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong. My daughter--haven't a clue what to give her: maybe a Magic Tree House?

 

Perhaps it just takes practice?

We've been realy bad lately and I let TV get completely out of control. As of last night we put it on "restricted" --to family movies or "school" related stuff.

 

We used to have charts--but I'm afraid to re-institute that. It didn't work out very well at all. The eleven year old was required to read an hour-- downgraded to 45 minutes. My 9 year old--1/2 hour)

[candleinaustin]

Alana - I don't have a lot of suggestions, but did want to let you know you're not alone. I ended up getting rid of our entire year of SL core 3/4 because my DD was clearly not ready for these reads. She LOVES Captain Underpants, so that's pretty much what she's reading for pleasure right now. For school, I have her recite things to me, like scripture or small books full of quotes. Just to make sure she's on level. She's reading at the end of a 4th grade level, so I know she's on target. But, she's not a bookish child and neither was I and I turned out ok. Ariana's really artistic and creative and we go in that direction more. HTH

[Alana in Canada]

Thanks for your reply!

I suspect my daughter isn't too bookish--but my son may be--if I can get him off the "junk." He loves humour and fantasy--not talking animals so much, but weird stuff (like 21 balloons which was the last "decent" book he read.)

[charlotteb]

I got my 11 year old son to read more by letting him stay up an hour later than his 7 year old sister! But... only if he reads during that hour. He's finishing 1 or 2 chapter books a week. I'm not too picky about what he reads as he loves historical fiction and things of that genre. But if that's an issue in your house, you could always pick the books for him or give him an approved list to chose from.

[littlebug42]

It took me a long time to find stuff that my daughter likes to read. She still hates fiction but loves non-fiction. I have a laundry basket of books that I get from the library, non-fiction, chapter books that are slightly easy for her etc and then I let them choose. For us, the girls go to bed at 8:00 PM with lights out at 9 PM. I have them read 30 minutes of something from the educational basket and then they can read Garfield or currently its Peanuts in our house. Most of the time it works but they still resist from time to time.

 

My daughter did love the Magic Tree House books and they were not overwhelming chapter books for her. We read aloud some harder stuff which she loves and I am planning to gradually move her into more as the school year progresses.

[Stacy in NJ]

I assign reading, a chapter or two depending on difficulty or lengh per day. I typical choose the selections, although I do listen to suggestions. My kiddos are required to narrate back to me what they've read, as well. I frequently, but not always, read what they're reading so that we can discuss it.

 

I think you need to work on developing an appreciation for reading in them. Reading aloud to them and using audio books in the car or at bedtime are ways to light the fire. Most libraries have terrific selections of books on tape or cd. Start your day with a read aloud at breakfast time. Set aside a certain time of day when everyone, including you, reads silently. Let the kiddos stay up a bit later at night if they read in bed.

[Tohru]

My 12yo ds disliked reading until he found books he liked. For awhile, I would read aloud to him and he followed along in his own copy. Thankfully, our library has more than one copy of great books.

 

It really needs to be books that they want to read. After reading "junk" for awhile, it gets exhausting and they will crave something more stimulating.

Maybe try joining a book club, where the kids get to pick the book all the others pick... with minimal rules. We allowed comics, picture books, chapter books, etc. in our book club.

 

My son found The Ranger's Apprentice Series, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, and the Warriors series that way. All GREAT books that he would NEVER have selected. Neither would I have actually.

 

Anyway, now the problem is getting him to STOP reading and so that he can do his other school work. lol!

[PeterPan]

Oh mercy, I can't even imagine requiring a dc to read, because my dd loves to read so much. I will say that the two books you listed for your older don't sound necessarily age-appropriate or gripping. The Wheel on the School, while a great read-aloud, isn't something my dd has ever reread for herself. In fact, she doesn't even like ANY of DeJong's books that we've tried. Maybe the problem is the books?

 

My dd LOVES Calvin & Hobbes btw, so I no problem there. You may just need to find a genre they like. I suggest spending an afternoon in Barnes & Noble and seeing what happens. Seriously, you can't fall in love with books if you aren't WITH books. Reading happens when there is nothing else more enticing to do, so you sort of have to destructure things and make space for it. You don't force it, but you have to make room for it, slow down your life and make space, kwim? Yup, several hours in a book store once in a while would probably do it. Libraries are never as cozy as bookstores, don't you think? And when my dd was little I made her a reading nest, sort of like a dog bed. You might try that or some cool moon chairs or something. Having books around and comfortable places to flop, it is all sort of conducive to inducing reading, sort of like lying down in bed and falling asleep. ;)

[carlychan]

Here are a few my 4th grader has read and loved (some with me, most on his own):

 

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket...These are WONDERFUL but a bit dark...the whole family could read if you're ok with that

 

The Warriors Series by Erin Hunter...I don't enjoy so he read them himself

 

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer...we started these as books on CD in the car and he graduated to reading himself

 

Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordon...I LOVE these! Boys will LOVE these. He should be able to read himself but you will enjoy them also

 

And no list is complete without good, old Harry Potter. I know some people won't allow their children to read them but they are GREAT books.

 

I hope maybe your son will enjoy reading with different options. Good luck!

 

Carly

[Laura Corin]

Practice is really important, as is family atmosphere: do they see you and DH reading? I will say that Calvin (a voracious reader) balked at The Wheel on the School - very slow going.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Jen in PA]

My dd gets very picky when it comes to what she'll accept for her silent reading. I offered her things below her reading level, I offered twaddle full of ponies and princesses, and what it has come down to is that she wants nonfiction above her reading level. This means I hear a lot of her shouting out spellings of words she can't decipher, but at least she's motivated to work through it. She always enjoys fiction and nonfiction read-alouds equally, but for her pleasure reading, fiction just doesn't do much at this point. The funny thing is, I personally read about 90% nonfiction, so I do understand her preference.

[Peela]

What worked for my son was tons of me reading aloud, while assigning him daily "school reading"- just the amount I felt he could handle at the time. He really loves fantasy though, although things like Swiss Family Robinson, I guess nature/survival stories, appeal to him too. One day when he was 9 he just asked if he could continue our read aloud himself, and took it and hasn't looked back- reading flipped from work to a pleasure. This was a struggling reader, a late bloomer, a dyslexic kid I was in despair over. He reads well ahead of his age level now, at 13, although thats not unusual for homeschoolers.

Some other things I guess are limiting tv, putting the kids to bed half an hour earlier than I want them to go to sleep, and telling them they can stay up only if they read- and feeding them books- good books that will appeal to them. My kids both love fantasy but they do read different books at times too (although they do read the same series quite often). I don't stick to classics, but years ago, not long after starting homeschooling, I did get rid of the twaddle- Goosebumps in our case. And I buy them each a book for b'day and Christmas.

I set aside school time for reading and try and give them interesting books for that time too- if they really dislike a book and they have given it a good go, I will generally substitute something else for them. Not always, but if its fiction I usually will. I don't want them to feel reading is a chore, although at times it is time to just push through.

i think the key with my son was to keep him reading until reading itself became no longer in any way a struggle. I wish writing worked the same way for him, but its a lot slower progress.

[Lovedtodeath]

For upping their reading level I think it is best to read together and take turns. DD said she didn't want to read a book one day and when I asked her why she said it was because it is more fun when we do the voices together. I recommend you read a copy of the Jim Trelease Read Aloud Handbook. There is a lot of information in there on raising reading levels in a variety of ways. (CC on the TV, reading together, and sustained silent reading) It also helps you to pick out books your DC might be interested in.

[katemary63]

We've been realy bad lately and I let TV get completely out of control. As of last night we put it on "restricted" --to family movies or "school" related stuff.

 

We finally realized that no one in the house had the self discipline to properly regulate the TV so we turned it off - canceled the cable. Now, DH reads to the girls in the evenings, we play games, go for a walk. It's wonderful! I HATE the boob tube and hope we never turn it on again. I get my news from the computer and the radio.

 

My DD7 reads about an hour a day, broken up into a couple of sessons. She also said that she hated reading untill she got ahold of a Magic Tree House book. Now I can't stop her. She also has an Excel file that she brings up every time she finishes a book. She enters title, author, # of pages, date and rating. She loves rating her books and gives most of them a 10 and some a 9. She just finished the Boxcar Children and when I asked her what she was going to rate it she gasped and said, "I'd give it a 20 if we had that!"

[Isa]

I would also highly recommend reading out loud and audios. Pick a book that is interesting and will have them asking for more. You can also read a book that has a movie made from it, and that makes for a good reward. The Lord of the Rings series and "Anne of Green Gables" have been hits with my children.

 

A good way to get your children reading is to read out loud and once you get to an exciting part stop. Then in order for your children to find out what happens next, tell them that they'll have to read the next part themselves (you can always read it out loud after they've read it to themselves).

 

If you get your children excited about the stories that books contain, they'll want to read more.

[sweetbaby]

I have two who love reading and two who could care less (my twins). I try to get books that are based on they likes. They love action adventures, comedies and suspense. I also get plenty of audio books with each library visit. When they narrate the books to me, it's describes just as if they had been viewing a movie. I think that's pretty neat how they can use their imaginations to picture the words of the speaker. We do read a louds in science, history and character studies too. They crash on their bean bags to sit and listen while I read.

[elegantlion]

My ds is slightly dyslexic and hates to read. We so our quiet reading time as part of school.

 

We start our day with a read-aloud for 30 minutes. Then he is required to read for a period of time. It was 20 minutes at the start of school, now up to 30 minutes. I sit and read my book in the same room. I set the example by reading too.

 

We generally rotate between me picking a book and then he gets to pick. We have a large home library so all of the choices have been "mother approved".

 

He is required to read 5 days per week. when he finishes a book he is allowed a one day break from reading.

 

This has worked for us, but I had to lead by example.

[KristineinKS]

I'm in the same position you are...especially now that we're homeschooling (my kids were in public school until last semester). It pains me because I've always been an avid reader & our house is overflowing with books. My eldest actually told me last night that if I'm going to require him to read, he'd rather go back to public school, ack! While I don't have any guaranteed suggestions, I can tell you what I'm trying. First, I'm reading aloud to the kids a lot now (supplementing with audio books is a great idea & I've been considering it myself). In addition to all the school books, we're currently reading Little Pilgrim's Progress & The Wheel on the School, which they're enjoying. Second, I just finished reading "A Picture Perfect Childhood" by Cay Gibson & she advocates using picture books for all ages...so I'm utilizing themed book baskets full of high quality non-intimidating picture books. To begin with, I'm trying to pick up on all the things my kids are interested in and then selecting books that fit those interests. There are many wonderful book lists in Cay's book and I always find inspiration at Serendipity and on the Real Learning Forums also (even though we're not Catholic). While I was hesitant about this at first, as The Read-Aloud Handbook suggests, "a good story is a good story, whether it has pictures or not." (BTW, The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease is also a great reference.) I require 30 minutes of independent reading from the book basket per day. Though an hour or so is my ultimate goal, 30 minutes is more manageable for my kids until they adjust...

 

I'm currently reading another excellent book, "Real Learning: Education in the Heart of the Home" by Elizabeth Foss (founder of the Serendipity blog listed above) & here's a quote I found inspirational..."Studies have shown that the more books in a child's home the more likely that the child will be intelligent. The books in this home are not confined to the learning room but are easily available in every room in the house. They are in baskets in the family room, the living room, and the bathroom. They are on bedside tables, in bags to take to the pool, and on tapes in the car. And they are not the dumbed-down, insipid books that Charlotte Mason would call 'twaddle.' They are books of high moral quality, full of worthy ideas and fine language. They are living books. They are the core of the children's education in this home. -- The atmosphere of the home we are considering is alive with living books and living ideas." So, I think that's key...limiting T.V. and computer access and supplying an abundance of books *everywhere* (even if they are below grade level and/or picture books - it's a start that will inspire confidence and lead to further reading...). She also talks a great deal about inspiring children to learn and creating an atmosphere that encourages learning. By asking the right questions to inspire curiosity and engage the child, having the books/resources available, and then standing back ("masterly inactivity" as Charlotte Mason described) learning is inevitable.